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<p>This week on <em>Sound Medicine</em>, Indiana University pediatrician Rachel Vreeman questions the wisdom of chickenpox parties and similar strategies for avoiding the vaccine. Dr. Vreeman will also discuss new research on flu shots for kids allergic to eggs.</p>

Dr. Rachel Vreeman on Childhood Vaccines, This Week on Sound Medicine

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Sound Medicine airs at 2 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 18, on WFYI, 90.1 FM. For the airtime on a public radio station near you, check the Sound Medicine website

Advice on vaccine avoidance. Chickenpox parties? Chickenpox-laced lollipops? Parents will do some cringe-worthy things to avoid vaccinating their children. Sound Medicine’s Kathy Miller, M.D., asks Indiana University pediatrician Rachel Vreeman how advisable these strategies are. Vreeman is assistant professor in the Children’s Health Services Research Program at the IU School of Medicine. She practices at Riley Hospital for Children, part of IU Health.

Flu shots and egg allergies. If children are allergic to eggs, is it safe for them to receive flu shots, which contain traces of egg? Vreeman discusses recent research concluding that even children with severe egg allergies may be immunized safely.

Robots for kidney tumors. We’re familiar with robots in the operating room. A recent study, however, finds that a new, minimally invasive robotic surgery is effective for removing cancerous kidney tumors. IU School of Medicine urologist and researcher Ronald Boris, M.D., discusses the “robotic partial nephrectomy,” which preserves healthy tissue and results in shorter recovery times for patients. Boris is an IU Health physician.

Book: The Body Politic, the Battle Over Science in America. At one time Americans could trust the basic truth of scientific research. But today, Americans are increasingly skeptical. Sound Medicine’s resident bioethicist, Eric Meslin, Ph.D., interviews bioethicist and author Jonathan Moreno, Ph.D., about his book, The Body Politic. Moreno’s work explores the notion of biopolitics and the interesting conflicts between “bioprogressives” and “bioconservatives.” Dr. Moreno is the David and Lyn Silfen University Professor of Ethics at the University of Pennsylvania.

Sound Medicine is an award-winning radio program co-produced by the Indiana University School of Medicine and WFYI Public Radio (90.1 FM). Sound Medicine is underwritten by Indiana University Health Physicians and Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis.
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Listen to Sound Medicine on the following Indiana public radio stations:
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The show also airs on these out-of state public radio stations:
KOTZ and KINU (Kotzebue, Alaska), KRCC (Colorado Springs, Colo.),  KEDM (Monroe, La.), WCNY (Syracuse, N.Y.), WYSO (Yellow Springs, Ohio), WYSU (Youngstown, Ohio), KWGS (Tulsa, Okla.), KPOV (Bend, Ore.), KMHA (Four Bears, N.D.), KLMS (Carlsbad, N.M.) and WLRH (Huntsville, Ala).